What Happens?
by OddlyCas
Summary: "Because what happens when she dies, Paige?" he snaps, pulling away from the liaison and standing from the couch. (A small little one-shot that takes place just after Going South. Minimum Waige-fluff as this focuses mainly on Paige being Walter's friend and helping him deal with Melvester.)


**AN:** Just a little something that's been on my mind ever since I saw the previews for Going South. This takes place just after the episode and is likely completely out of character, but it was weighing heavily on my mind and I had to write it out. This is just my thoughts on how/why Walter would/will react to Sly and Megan's relationship.

I have not forgotten about 'They're Special', by the way! I'm currently struggling with my the Quintis one-shot I promised. I'll do my best to have it uploaded soon!

Anywho, hope you enjoy!

_I clearly don't own Scorpion, CBS does. So don't sue because I'm broke and can't afford a lawyer, heh..._

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Walter let's out a growl of frustration, grabbing a mug off of the kitchen island and hurling it towards the wall. It connects, smashing into pieces, and the genius huffs in satisfaction. His triumph is short lived as the words that have plagued him all night start once again replaying in his mind.

_"I'm dating your sister."_

Sylvester. Megan. Dating.

The words the human calculator spoke hours ago still echo in Walter's head, as clear as if the man had just heard them seconds ago. With the case finished and his team once again safe, the genius had been stewing on the words for hours.

_"I'm dating your sister."_

How in the hell could Megan and Sylvester be dating? Sure, Walter knows Sylvester is a wonderfully nice guy (nice to a fault, even). He knows that his sister is nice too, that she understands geniuses are different because she grew up with one. And yes, Walter admits, he even knows that they both (at times) must feel so incredibly lonely. And they found comfort in one another's company, formed a bond born from mutual loneliness.

And that's fine, if they were to only remain friends.

But dating?

'What does that even mean, dating?' Walter wonders, thinking back to his past relationships. Concentrating on the times when his exes would manage to coerce him into what they called a "date night", Walter infers that a date consists of two people (who find each other mutually attractive or two people that are already in a relationship), going out to spend time together and then returning back to one of their places to...

Oh... Oh. _Oh_.

Walter grabs another mug from the kitchen island and sends it flying across the room. It smashes as soon as it makes impact with the wall, but unlike before, the sound of the ceramic shattering does little to quell the anger boiling inside of the genius' body and he reaches for another mug. He flips the striped cup in his hand and lifts his arm up, drawing back and preparing to chuck it after it's copy.

"Walter?"

A familiar voice from behind him halts his actions and Walter turns, mug still held high in the air, and catches sight of Paige standing at the top of the stairs, arms crossed across her stomach, expression worried.

"Paige," he says, dropping the mug back onto the counter next to him, "I, uh, thought you went home for the night..."

Paige shakes her head and slowly approaches him, steps small and slow as if she's scared she'll frighten him off, "No... Toby and Happy had promised Sly and Ralph that, after the case, they would take them to the comic book store. It was getting late, but tomorrow's an in-service day at Ralph's school so if he's up a little later tonight... I figured it wouldn't hurt. I was just finishing up some paperwork when I, uh..." Paige gestures towards the mug on the counter, arms still wrapped around her sides, "Got worried."

Walter sighs, feeling ashamed for worrying the woman, "Sorry... I was... Letting out some..."

"Pent up frustration?" Paige offers as she finally reaches the genius. Leaning her hip against the side of the island, the liaison stares at the man in front of her, one eyebrow raised. Walter sighs once again, running a hand over his face as he stares at the woman in front of him.

"Yeah, sure. Pent up frustration."

"Care to share?"

"Not particularly," Walter states easily, pushing the mug across the kitchen island. It stops just short of the edge, but before Walter can reach over to shove it the rest of the way off, Paige has already circled the bar and taken the cup into her hands.

"The more evasive you are, the more I'll press," she says lightly, placing the mug into the cabinet above the sink. Walter smiles slightly, remembering the first time the liaison said those words to him- just after he'd received the letter about Megan's MS worsening.

Megan.

Megan his sister.

Megan his sister, who is dating his friend, Sylvester.

Walter slams his fist against the island in front of him, causing Paige to jump, as he remembers the reason for his anger.

"Sorry," he says, spinning away from the counter and stomping over towards the couch. Arms crossed over his chest, the genius flops down onto the sofa and props his feet up on the coffee table. Paige sighs and follows after him, dropping herself onto the cushions next to him. She turns to face him, pulling her legs up onto the couch after her.

"Look, Walt," the liaison begins, running a hand through her hair and leaning her head against her hand, "I know something's bugging you, otherwise you wouldn't have smashed three mugs-"

"Two," he corrects her, "Two mugs."

"_Two mugs_," Paige huffs, but continues on anyway, "and you wouldn't have abused the kitchen island. So why don't you tell me what's got you so upset?"

Walter shakes his head, glancing over at the woman beside him before fixing his gaze on the blackened TV screen across from the couch, "I already told you, I didn't '_care to share_'."

Paige snorts from her space beside the genius, nudging him in the shoulder with he knee, "Well maybe I don't need you to share. Maybe I already know."

"Oh yeah?" Walter asks, turning his attention onto Paige, "If that's the case, then what exactly is my problem, Paige?"

"Your problem is Megan and Sylvester dating."

"Whatever," Walter mutters, frowning at the liaison, eyes once again focusing on the blank television. Paige sighs and places her hand against the man's shoulder, catching his attention.

"Listen, Walter... I know that Megan's your sister and Sly is your friend and that the idea of them dating might be difficult for you, but they are both adults and you are not their parent. Megan is going to date whoever she wants, the same with Sylvester. And if they want to date each other, there's nothing you can do about it," Paige says, hand never leaving his shoulder as she speaks.

Walter stares at her for a few seconds before sighing, "This isn't a problem I can solve, is it?"

"Why does it bother you so much, Walter?" Paige asks, ignoring his question.

"Because she's my sister and he's my friend and it's not right."

"Why does it bother you so much, Walter?" Paige repeats, hand dropping from his shoulder to rest against his arm.

"I already told you, Paige! Because she's my sister and he's my friend," Walter grumbles, exasperated.

"Why does it bother you so much, Walter?"

"Because what happens when she dies, Paige?!" he snaps, pulling away from the liaison and standing from the couch, "What happens when she's too sick to talk, and too weak to move? What happens when she gets so bad that we won't even recognize her anymore? When her features are so sunken in she looks like a completely different person?" Walter runs a hand through his curls and starts pacing the room, his voice cracking slightly even as he tries his best to keep himself collected. He turns to face the woman on the couch then, his eyes saddened as his voice drops lower, "What happens when she dies and leaves him heartbroken?"

"Oh Walter..." Paige uncurls her legs and stands from the couch, approaching the genius in front of her. Walter steps away from her, crossing his arms and shaking his head, but Paige is relentless and follows him step for step until he's backed against the bookshelves that divide his bedroom from the rest of the loft. Reaching out towards him, the liaison curls her hand around his arm.

"I... I didn't know that you were... I'm sorry," she says, shaking her head slowly, "We all thought you were just offended that Sly would go behind your back... We never thought- I never thought- that you were worried about him. I should have given you more credit..."

"And I shouldn't have called you the _Supernanny_," Walter sighs, dropping his head. Paige chuckles, shaking her head once again.

"No, it's actually accurate. You're all a bunch of children half the time," she teases, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. Walter snorts softly, head tilted off to the side to hide his smile.

"Walt," Paige says softly, causing the genius to look at her again, "It's... so sweet that you're worried about Sly. It is. But you can't control his or Megan's actions, like I said. They're going to do what they're going to do. And you're just going to have to deal with it. You can't worry about what's going to happen if Megan dies. If that time comes, Sly will deal with it. And he'll have all of us to help him through it... And so will you."

Walter breaks eye contact with the woman, focusing on the floor as he let's her words seep in.

"Do you... Do you think we'll be okay?" he asks, and his voice is low and raw with emotion, and it breaks Paige's heart to hear him sound so vulnerable.

"At first, no... But with time, I know you will... And if something happens to Megan," she says, squeezing the genius' arm once again, "At least you and Sly will be able to look back and share memories about her."

Walter nods his head slowly and gives Paige a small smile. "Thank you, Paige..." he mumbles softly.

Paige returns his smile, her thumb rubbing small circles against his arm, "You're welcome, Walt."

For a moment, they stand in silence, each collecting their thoughts, before Paige breaks the silence.

"Walter, why the hell are you doing an impression of a bunny rabbit?" she asks, watching as Walter twitches his now-wrinkled nose back and forth.

"Well, I was just thinking... I'm not sure I want to know some of the memories Sly may or may not have of my sister..."

Paige laughs then, dropping her head to rest lightly against the genius' chest, "You are such a dork Walter O'Brien."

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AN: That ending was really, super lame and I'm terribly sorry about that, haha. But either way, I hope you all enjoyed. As always reviews/favorites are greatly appreciated. (:


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